Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Reportedly, An Arkansas Law WouldForce Rape Survivors to Notify Their Attacker Before Getting an Abortion!

A Real-Life Horror Story for Women in Arkansas: Reportedly, An Arkansas Law Would Force Rape Survivors to Notify Their Attacker Before Getting an Abortion! Really?

Imagine you are a woman, who has been assaulted and raped. Reportedly, to add to the agony, the woman finds out that she is pregnant. But that is not the end to the horror. In order to get an abortion, the State of Arkansas is, reportedly, compelling the raped/pregnant woman to let the rapist know about the procedure!

This may seem like a nightmarish scenario out of a novel about a dystopian future. But, reportedly, it is happening right now: in 2017 America. Reportedly, the State of Arkansas has just passed an anti-abortion law that makes it illegal for women to have an abortion without notifying the man, who impregnated her--including if that man is someone, who had raped her.

Adding to what critics see as a reactionary perversity of the said law -- known as the "Tissue Disposal Mandate" -- is that a provision is being added to an existing law, called the Final Disposition Act, that gives family members of a person, who has died, a say over what happens to the deceased's body. Under the new provision, just passed and set to go into effect at the end of July, the aborted fetus would be considered a deceased family member--and the man who impregnated the woman (even a rapist) would have equal say with the woman regarding the disposal of the fetal tissue. Really?